Val Coleman: Inspirational 93-year-old rows her way into world-record books

Fracturing a hip would cause most 90-year-olds to slow down.

But then Val Coleman is no ordinary nonagenarian.

A shattered bone was just the start of a new and exciting journey into rowing, one which would see her not only become a world champion, but the holder of four world records.

It is no surprise Val, now 93, took to rowing like the proverbial duck to water, for it is a sport deeply rooted in her home town of Fishguard as well as her family of eight children, 23 grandchildren and 21 great-grandchildren.

Her road to recovery led her to Fishguard and Goodwick Jemima Rowing Club, where she would watch the Celtic long boats launch from Lower Town.

Val fought hard to regain her fitness and was soon strapping her feet into one of the club's indoor machines.

"It was the nursing home or get better," she joked during a training session with her team-mates.

It is the sort of attitude Val adopted during a 20-year career as a theatre and intensive care nurse.

Not even the first Covid lockdown would dampen her new passion as her family arranged for a machine to be set up in her home, on which she would row every morning.

"It's just really good exercise and you're sitting down as well, which is nice," Val told BBC Sport Wales.

"It's competitive even though I'm only competing with myself a lot of the time, but I still want to improve on what I'm doing."

As well as rowing, Val is a keen swimmer and enjoys yoga, pilates and group walks

Just a few months after taking up the sport, Val started to get a taste for competition and soon established herself as a Welsh, British and world champion, with events taking place virtually due to the pandemic.

She currently holds the world record in the 90-94 heavyweight women age group over 2,000m, 1,000m and 100m distances, as well as the one minute time challenge.

Val admits becoming a record breaker came as a "big surprise".

"It's incredible, I can't believe it," she said.

"Everything is arranged for me, I just sit on the machine and row it, I don't have to do all the organisation. It's really fun and it's good camaraderie as well."

Val and her Jemima team-mates will be aiming for more success when they compete in the World Indoor Rowing Championship from February 25-26, which will also be held virtually.

And she is in good form, having recently broke her own 2,000m world record at the Welsh Rowing Championships with a time of 12.53.9 - a time many younger rowers would be proud of.

Mention the word 'inspirational' to Val and she almost blushes.

But she admits she would be "really pleased" if she helps others get more active.

"I would say to everybody the older you get the more exercise you need, from 60 on you've really got to try harder and harder," she said.

She certainly inspires her team-mates, who she describes as a "lively" and "encouraging" gang of ladies.

"She just bowls everyone over," said her daughter Martha Owen, a successful rower in her own right.

"Her age is quite irrelevant. If mum started rowing when she was young she would be way up there, like Olympic standard.

"She is one of the best athletes in the club with her technique and training. She's really got it."

Martha too hopes to be rowing well into her 90s, even if it is just to break her mother's records.

And what next for Val at 93? Well, she has not given up hope of the open water.

"Maybe I'll get out to sea, you never know," she said. "It would be nice, even if I just went out once just to say that I've been."

Put nothing past Val Coleman.